Yesterday was the two year anniversary of walking to the apartment building where I was moving to in Covington, Kentucky and meeting up with the IKEA guy. Well, he really wasn’t an IKEA guy, but a college student who knew how to put their furniture together. I was getting a new bed for my new apartment and he was going to assemble it for me. Yep, that was two years ago yesterday.

Also two years ago yesterday was the day I got stuck on the elevator in the building where I was moving to. I’m happy to report that I haven’t gotten stuck since and yes—I’m knocking on wood.

Two years ago today was the actual move. My kids helped, so did friends Jim and Jan and also my daughter’s boyfriend. He’s now her husband. It didn’t take long at all. After getting everything moved in, we ordered pizza. I think it was from LaRosa’s but don’t hold me do it.

Friends and family don’t ask me much anymore, but when I first moved in, they would want to know how I liked it. I would answer, “Fine,” and I don’t think that answer has changed. I consider it home and I don’t plan on moving.

Where I lived before in Covington, over on 10th Street, I didn’t consider home at all. When I first moved in there, it was OK, but for the last six or so months, the landlord stopped doing any kind of maintenance. It sucked big time. So what do you do when the building you’re living in sucks? You move.

Where I live now, they believe in maintenance and keeping the place decent. I don’t take that for granted. For example, the faucet in my bathtub had a bit of a leak last week. Know what? The landlord fixed it. If I was still on 10th Street, it would still be dripping.

I know I’ve said here before that St. Mary’s Cathedral is the view from my window. I’m not a religious person, but it is a beautiful building and a beautiful view and it’s one of the reasons why I like my apartment.

Is it a perfect place to live? No, but if I didn’t, for the most part, like living where I am, I wouldn’t be writing about two year anniversaries about my IKEA bed, getting stuck on the elevator and/or living there. I think you already know that.

I’ve said here before that the view from my window in the apartment I’m in here in Covington, Kentucky is St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption. It is a dead on view. If you were a religious person, you would probably pay extra to get what I have. I’m not religious and I didn’t pay extra. It was just dumb luck.

Sometimes when I look out my window, I’ll see cars and people in the parking lot of St. Mary’s. They’re looking at the cathedral with their cameras taking pictures. I can tell they’re serious about it, because they’re not using the camera on their cell phone. They’ve got the real deal and I understand that. You don’t see a church like that every day.

Also, every once in a while when I’m heading down to the corner of happy and healthy (Walgreens), I’ll cut through St. Mary’s parking lot. On occasion, I’ll run into people who are out there with their cameras. Sometimes I’ll approach them.

“Where would you like me to stand?” I’ll say.

Some people know that I’m joking. Some look at me like I’ve got two heads. One time, an older couple with a camera let me get into the picture. They got my tiny little joke.

What the hell. I mean it’s not like I’m trying to hurt anybody. I’m just having a little fun in St. Mary’s Parking Lot.

Larry Gross is me and I’m thinking a cathedral is also considered a church. I’m not a religious person, so I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the difference between the new. If someone gets all hung up on this, I’m sure they’ll let me know.

For almost a year now, I’ve been living right across the street from St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption (a mouthful of words) here in Covington. I have a great view of this cathedral from my apartment window. I’ve received so many compliments on this that I’m thinking about subletting my apartment for $2,000 a month. I think I’m kidding. As I’ve said here before, I’m not religious, but I do appreciate good architecture.

I’ve never been inside St. Mary’s until last Saturday afternoon. Some friends and I had lunch over here in Covington, then did a little shopping and kind of at the last minute decided to go into the cathedral. I mean, I was almost home, so why not?

A guy who was sitting at a little desk before entering the cathedral was very nice and handed each of us a brochure with information on the cathedral. Looking around and reading from it, the stained glass, 82 windows in all, were made in 1910. It was hard to keep my eyes off it as well as the mosaic stations.

I know that St. Mary’s is regarded as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, and seeing is believing. Beautiful is an understatement. It’s beyond that. It’s stunning, jaw-dropping—almost enough to make me want to believe. I still don’t, but I was impressed.

We took a few pictures, and my friend Jim took the one of me you’re looking at. We stayed for 20 minutes or so and then left.

So Larry Gross goes, or went, to church. I’m glad I did it, glad I know what it looks like now on the inside. We’re lucky to have St. Mary’s here in Downtown Covington.

Having said that, I’ll probably never go back inside. I’ve be waving from my apartment window as the believers go to church there on Sunday mornings.